2014 Forester or CX-5 & Lease vs Buy

[JustinG]

Looking to trade in the the SAAB towards one of the two following vehicles. Escape is out due to some recall issues popping up for the newest generation, and Yotas/Hondas are overpriced soulless pieces of shit.

2014 Forester Limited or a CX-5 Grand Touring

We test drove both yesterday and I honestly have no clue which I like better.

The CX-5 had a sportier feel, we enjoyed intuitiveness of the interior/radio, it is arguably better looking. Quiet, nice nav unit, nice interior, comfy seats. Blind spot indicator was really cool, especially with a baby seat blocking most of your rear passenger window viewing angle.

Cons: Cost, can get the Subaru for approx 4-6k cheaper with VIP pricing and exact same features.

The Forester felt faster due to the torque of the boxer and CVT, cabin felt roomier, has more cargo room, comfy seats. Has auto lift gate, which I thought was just a gimmick for lazy ass people, until you are trying to open/close the hatch with your kid hanging off of you. AWD standard, additional cost on the CX5. Approach lights on the mirrors were a cool feature. GIANT ASS SUNROOF WAS AWESOME. 2013 IIHS safety winner. Potentially better resale.

Cons: Handled less like a car, more like an SUV, cushier ride, no blind spot indicators, NAV unit missing some features.and less intuitive, more pedestrian look over the CX-5.

So thoughts?????

We are seriously at a loss. We like the CX-5 but feel the Forester is the better value for what we would be getting, and the extra space is nice. Every review I have read has these 2 things #1 and #2

Next conversation....

Lease vs Buy

Why isn't leasing the no brainer?

Casey is now WFH 3 of 5 days, and more than likely going WFH 5 of 5 days. If either of us have to travel for work we can get a rental. We have put the majority of miles on my forester since buying it in march (Vacation, track weekends, trips to the inlaws/parents) and are at about 17k, since we have been trying to keep miles off the SAAB in prep for a trade in. I think we would be safe with 12k on a lease and we have my car if we get in a mileage crunch.

Just seems like a lower payment and a new car every 3 years seems like a nice deal? I know Insurance will go up a bit, but that cost should be offset by the 10-15mpg we are saving per tank of gas.

What am I missing, I know it can't be as glorious as I am seeing right now.

[rherold9]

I'm biased but I say the CX-5.... I'd also try to buy it and not bother with leasing because you are paying to give the vehicle back to the dealer... that's no fun.

[*insertusernamehere*]

I think auto liftgate will serve you better than blind spot indicator. I vote Forester.

Which one do you think you'll get bored of faster? Don't buy the one you just thought of. :lol:

[CaptainHenreh]

I never liked the idea of a lease, but that's mostly due to feeling held hostage by "thou shalts" on the lease terms.

Hate to say it, but if you're gonna lease have you looked at a new Cherokee? Not the GC, but the italian abomination they slapped the cherokee name to. If you're not gonna keep it beyond warranty time, then there's no real need to consider long term reliability.

[JustinG]

I will not own a new cherokee.....that shit is beyond hideous.

[WRXtranceformed]

We are leasing Rachael's car and it is working out fine. She doesn't drive much and since she doesn't put many miles on it we can take it on a long trip every now and then. You do always have the option of buying out the car at the end of the lease, which we may do because she really likes it. The key imo to a lease is to negotiate a $0.00 down payment especially if you plan on turning it in again at the end of the lease. At least according to Hyundai, if we want to swap after 3 years though it's basically a swap of the keys.

[Beej]

Yeah it's a shame the new Cherokee is so ugly. It's growing on me a tiny bit, but the rest of it is nice enough to make the front end is a shame.

Didn't Evan mention that the CX-5 might be getting an interior facelift or something with better tech? Might be worth waiting for.

In addition to the power lift gate, I love the "leave your key in your pocket all the time" thing, which I know the CX-5 offers, assume the Subaru does too? My feelings were that since it were for her, sacrificing fun-to-drive for something she likes more and is nice/comfortable was an easy choice. Sounds like you may not have that clear line of use though.

[Evan]

My parents just bought a 14 forester, its a good car. Like you said, that and CX5 are #1 and #2 so you cant go wrong with either. I also cross shopped the 14 forester as it had just hit dealerships when i bought my cx5.
Personally, Id still stick with my CX-5 but its close. Forester has a lot of great features. The radar cruise control and auto liftgate are two things that I miss, but i would miss not having blind spot montors. strictly from a tech perspective, the escape beats them both.
didnt like the cvt or the engine on the forester. its passable, but imo this is where mazda hit a home run.
if the forester has more room in the backseat/back (i didnt compare them) then thats an important consideration, cx5 is already on the big side of compact crossovers but i wouldnt mind a tad more room.

How do you have it optioned that the forester is 4-6k cheaper? i found it to be just the opposite. similarly optioned i found the forester to be about 3k more.

since you already have a forester for throwing stuff in the back, have you thought about getting a midsize sedan like mazda 6 or kia optima? you get a lot more of everything for about the same money.

[JustinG]

VIP pricing is like 2% off dealer invoice.

Priced the limited forester, with nav, came in at just over $30k on the website.

Wife doesn't want a sedan, trying to go wagon, but that's a negative as well.

[Jake]

I think the only Escapes with the recalls have been the 1.6 Turbos, Justin. The 2.0T is the same motor that's in the Focus ST and Fusion, been around a little while and is holding up well. No clue if you could option one out the way you like with that motor though. It'd certainly win the tech-checklist.

Between the Mazda and Subie, I'd go Mazda. Subaru's infotainment has always been subpar IMO, and I'm so anti-CVT that I don't think I could really get excited about one. Although, I drove Julie's Crosstrek a bit at VIR and it wasn't bad like older CVTs were. The Mazda just does it for me more, if I needed something like that.

[Evan]

VIP pricing is like 2% off dealer invoice.

Priced the limited forester, with nav, came in at just over $30k on the website.

Wife doesn't want a sedan, trying to go wagon, but that's a negative as well.

ah ok, looks like the limited forester compares more to the touring cx5 (sort of) and touring forester compares to the grand touring cx-5. which is probably why youre getting a big price difference if youre comparing limited to touring.

btw, to get an S plan pin, go here
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="https://portal.mazdausa.com/m171/VPP/MNAOExternalPINRequest?id=VPP_SUPPLIER_PIN_REQUEST">https://portal.mazdausa.com/m171/VPP/MN ... IN_REQUEST</a><!-- m -->

and use partner id #M000730 (thats the mazda motorsports code)

at least in this area, no dealers were willing to go down to invoice with haggling, even cross shopping offers, web haggling, etc. I ended up using the s plan to get it to invoice, then asked for some accessories in addition for 'free'. they refused but then called me the last day of the month/quarter and took it.
it was a 'hot' car at the time, so it may be easier to get it under invoice now.

and mazda said they would update the infotainment to a similar one that is in the new mazda3 this year. no idea if it will hit in the spring or the fall though.

[JustinG]

So the limited Forester was optioned exactly like the GT we test drove - blind spot and dual climate.

[Evan]

Theres a lot more to GT than bsm and climate control, but if thats all youre looking for then by all means get the forester and save some money.

I *almost* bought cx5 touring to save some money but there were just a couple things that the GT had that I really wanted to I splurged on the extra $$.
sucks you cant spec cars a la carte any more.

[JustinG]

Ill have to look at the options a little closer. I know I missed hids as well.

Mind messaging what your cx-5 $ was with s plan? Can't seem to find an example for the cx5.

[JustinG]

Been calling around today. Looks like with VIP vs S Plan and rebates we are looking at +$1700 over a Limited Forester w/o NAV for a Completely loaded CX-5. CX-5 is looking more and more attractive. Still need to get pricing from other dealerships.

[Jeff]

What sort of (rough) end figures are you getting on these vehicles? I assume most of these places are charging some sort of paperwork fees. Just curious on OTD prices you are getting quoted.

[nismosam]

I vote Forester! I have always felt like leasing is a good idea if you really don't want to own the car in a few years, but I can also agree with Rex on the "thou shalts" haha